At the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, the 8 members of the Chinese weightlifting team, known as China's gold-winning "dream team", finally set an excellent record of seven gold and one silver.
Since the 1980s, the extraordinary Chinese power of the Chinese weightlifting team has dominated this all-strength sport that European and American athletes are better at for more than four decades.
As the soul of the Chinese weightlifting team, Zhan Xugang has won two consecutive Olympic championships, becoming the first person in China's weightlifting history to win consecutive Olympic championships.
After retiring from the military, he embarked on the road to politics and is now a deputy department-level cadre.
Zhan Xugang
Gifted to start the road to weightlifting
On May 15, 1974, Zhan Xugang was born into a family of ordinary workers in Yingpanshan Town, Kaihua County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province.
Zhan Xu weighed nearly nine pounds when he was born, and his physique was much stronger than that of ordinary babies, and the doctors and nurses who connected the birth quipped that it would be a pity if the child did not practice sports in the future.
After attending elementary school, Zhan Xu's athletic talent gradually became prominent, whether it was running, high jump, long jump or badminton, basketball, football and other sports, he was always the most eye-catching presence in various sports activities held by the school.
At that time, the juvenile sports school under the Sports Bureau of Kaihua County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, set up a new amateur weightlifting team, and the coach of the team, Zhu Yun'er, began to select talents among major primary and secondary schools.
Zhan Xugang
Zhu Yun'er went to the Nanmen Primary School in Chengguan Town to select talents, and happened to encounter Zhan Xugang's class for physical education class, and his eyes immediately locked on Zhan Xugang.
This 10-year-old child, who is just 1.5 meters tall and weighs only 30 kilograms, can jump 2 meters 1 in the long jump.
In the view of Coach Zhu Yun'er, Zhan Xugang is a very suitable material for weightlifting in terms of physical coordination and explosive ability. He found Zhan Xugang after school and hoped that he could join the weightlifting team he organized, and Zhan Xugang, who already had a strong interest in sports, gladly agreed.
Zhan Xugang rushed home to discuss with his parents after school, but unexpectedly, this decision was opposed by his mother, who believed that weightlifting was not only very hard to train, but also may inhibit height growth, and most importantly, it will delay Zhan Xugang's studies.
Zhan Xugang
In order to persuade Zhan Xugang's mother, Coach Zhu Yun'er can be said to have taken a lot of pains to analyze the stakes of weightlifting training from all aspects, and finally Zhan Xugang's mother agreed.
In this way, Zhan Xugang followed the enlightenment coach Zhu Yun'er to the Kaihua County Sports Committee Weightlifting Team and began his weightlifting career.
At that time, as a young man, he understood a truth: if you want to achieve excellent results in the power competition of weightlifting, it is not enough to rely on your own talent, only hard work is the only way to success.
After joining the weightlifting team, Zhan Xugang has never missed any training, in addition to which he also uses his spare time to read a large number of professional knowledge books to study the knowledge of weightlifting skills, and explore and formulate a set of scientific training methods that are most suitable for him.
Zhan Xugang
In March 1987, Zhan Xugang, who had been training at the Kaihua County Sports Committee for three years, participated in a national competition for the first time, and he broke the national record in the 40 kg competition of the 14-year-old group.
This dazzling achievement also made the coach of the Zhejiang Provincial Weightlifting Team pay attention to this talented player, and soon after, Zhan Xugang successfully joined the Zhejiang Provincial Weightlifting Team, becoming the youngest member of the entire team.
After entering the Zhejiang provincial team, Zhan Xugang did not dare to slack off for a moment, and every day in addition to completing the training tasks assigned by the coach, he would also take the initiative to find a coach to enhance his training efforts and strive to maintain the best state.
After joining the provincial team, Zhan Xugang had more opportunities to participate, and he began to emerge among a group of excellent weightlifters with excellent results.
In 1993, at the age of 19, Zhan Xugang was awarded the "Outstanding Young Weightlifters in Asia" award. In January of the following year, Zhan Xugang was officially selected for the national team by Yang Hanxiong, then head coach of the Chinese national weightlifting team.
Zhan Xugang
Just two years later, Zhan Xugang became famous at the 1995 World Weightlifting Championships in Guangzhou.
In the men's 70 kg snatch competition at the 1995 Guangzhou Weightlifting World Championships, Zhan Xugang had the same results as Turkey's Guler, but due to his heavier weight, he could only be relegated to the second place.
In the deadlift competition, Zhan Xugang dominated the overall results with an advantage of 2.5 kg higher than his opponents, and the 21-year-old Zhan Xugang won the overall result of the 70 kg class of this World Weightlifting Championships.
In 1996, Zhan Xugang represented the Chinese weightlifting team in the men's 70 kg final of the Atlanta Olympic Games, and as a big favorite to win the championship, he did not disappoint everyone.
In the competition on the same day, Zhan Xugang not only won the fourth gold medal for the Chinese delegation with the result of overpowering the opponent, but also broke the three world records of snatch, deadlift and total performance, opening the peak moment of his weightlifting career.
Zhan Xugang
In a surprising move, he won the Olympic championship for the second time
After the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Zhan Xugang's performance rose all the way and improved by leaps and bounds.
At the 8th National Games in 1997, he easily lifted the weight class of 200 kg when he was in the second weightlift, breaking the world record again. But what he didn't expect was that this time it would be the last time he would break the world record in the 70kg class.
The following year, the International Weightlifting Federation made another adjustment to the weightlifting level, changing the original ten levels to eight, and the 70 kg class where Zhan Xugang was located was also abolished, and two new grades of 69 kg and 77 kg were established nearby.
After all, it is not easy for Zhan Xugang to lose weight, and he almost lost his life in order to lose 4.5 kilograms of weight before participating in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the difficulty of losing weight as he grows older is gradually increasing.
Zhan Xugang
Under repeated weighing, Zhan Xugang chose to rise to the 77 kg class, which made Zhan Xugang a question and even contempt, after all, such a large span requires an adjustment period of about three to four years according to the convention, whether Zhan Xugang can still prepare for the focus of everyone's attention.
What is even more disappointing to Zhan Xugang is that this adjustment also caused him to lose his glory on the field, before participating in the Sydney Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang's best result was only the fourth place in the 1998 World Weightlifting Championships.
In the face of everyone's doubts and discussions, Zhan Xugang was very unconvinced, and he began to devote himself to training more desperately, at that time, Zhan Xugang had reached a state of almost madness, and even the coach Wang Guoxin could not stop him.
The coach was very anxious to see Zhan Xugang like this, but his own bitter words and persuasion were almost useless, so he decided to use some unconventional means to stabilize Zhan Xugang's emotions.
Zhan Xugang
Once, after Zhan Xugang failed in two consecutive sets of 140 kg in training, coach Wang Guoxin took this opportunity to stimulate Zhan Xu's cruel words at the beginning, and Zhan Xugang's mood gradually improved, and he once again regained confidence to actively prepare for the upcoming second Olympic Games.
But what he did not expect was that this brief moment of tranquility was once again broken, and Zhan Xu had just ushered in unprecedented difficulties.
Zhan Xugang
The first is the difficulty of weight gain, a few days before the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang's weight suddenly dropped several kilograms continuously, even 76 kilograms could not reach, Zhan Xugang could only force himself to eat to maintain weight;
In addition, in the 77 kg heavyweight competition in which Zhan Xugang participated, the participants' grasping training performance was increased to 175 kg, which was a full 12.5 kg higher than usual, and Zhan Xugang's registration result ranked eighth and ninth among all the players in the 77 kg class. These ensuing bad news can be described as a blow to Zhan Xugang.
Just the day before the competition, there was a sudden situation in the men's weightlifting 77 kg competition, and three members of the Bulgarian weightlifting team failed the urine test, so the entire Bulgarian weightlifting team was disqualified.
Affected by this storm, the four players who participated in the 77 kg category, including the 1999 World Championships champion and runner-up, were not able to participate in the competition. After hearing this news, Zhan Xugang suddenly felt that he had more hope for winning the gold medal.
Zhan Xugang
On the day of the final of the Sydney Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang and the coach only chose 160 kilograms as the handlebar for safety, which was not difficult for the usual Zhan Xugang.
But the moment he stepped onto the field, he suddenly felt that his mind was blank, and he didn't know where to start, until he came down, he didn't know how to complete this action.
Immediately after the second and third 165 kg grabs, Zhan Xugang failed to succeed, and in the end, his snatch performance was fixed at 160 kg, 7.5 kg behind the first runner, ranking fourth among the six contestants.
Seeing this result, Zhan Xugang was stupid, he did not expect that he would have such a poor result in any way, and now it is impossible to win the gold medal with this result.
Zhan Xugang
According to the situation on the field, the coaching team unanimously decided to let Zhan Xugang adjust his goal and do his best to lock in the third place. Many Chinese media on the field also left the stadium to record the scene of the match that was more likely to win the championship than other Chinese delegations.
At the beginning of the deadlift competition, The Greek mitro, who finished second, successfully lifted 195 kilograms of weight in the first place, which meant that Zhan Xugang had to lift 202.5 kilograms to keep the top three.
This weight was completely able to win the championship in the previous world-class competitions, and zhan Xugang only had a desperate bet at this time.
He chose a weight of 202.5 kg in the first attempt, and fortunately, Zhan Xu just succeeded, which also means that he has successfully locked in the third place in the final.
Immediately following Zhan Xugang was the Azerbaijani weightlifter who ranked first in the snatching competition, he also chose a weight of 202.5 kg in the first test, and he unfortunately had a muscle strain in his right leg after doing his best, so he had to withdraw from the championship battle early, and the championship battle was also between Zhan Xugang and Greece's Mitro.
Zhan Xugang
Greece's Mitterro also chose the 202.5 kg heavyweight in the second test, and successfully completed this move, and the coaches and players of the Greek team immediately cheered.
After all, if Zhan Xugang wanted to surpass Mitro's performance, he would have to complete the weight of 207.5 kilograms in the next deadlift, and then win the championship through weight advantage, which was almost impossible.
The limit weight of 207.5 kg will fail if there is a slightest slip-up.
Surprisingly, Zhan Xugang miraculously completed the "Great Reversal" and successfully lifted this weight that he had never tried before.
In the end, Zhan Xugang successfully won the men's weightlifting 77 kg championship at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with a light weight advantage, becoming the first athlete in the history of Chinese men's weightlifting to win the Olympic championship consecutively.
The moment When Zhan Xu just won the championship became the most memorable moment for most Chinese people for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang's action to celebrate the victory was also designed by director Zhang Yimou as an icon for the 2008 Olympic Games.
Zhan Xugang
Marry your first love, an official to a cadre at the level of deputy department
After the Sydney Olympics, Zhan Xugang had to suspend his practice due to the impact of injury and made a one-and-a-half-year recuperation adjustment, and everyone thought that he would choose to retire at this time.
Unexpectedly, Zhan Xugang made a surprising decision, that is, to make a comeback and set foot on the field of the Athens Olympic Games again.
You know, at this time, Zhan Xugang is almost thirty years old, much older than his opponents at the same time, and his body has already reached a certain limit with injuries, and this time participating in the Olympic Games can be described as having no advantage at all.
But Zhan Xugang has always been reluctant to give up the weightlifting sport he has been engaged in for more than 20 years, and he hopes that he can create a miracle of three consecutive Olympic championships.
In August 2004, Zhan Xugang stepped onto the Olympic games for the third time. The result of this competition was not satisfactory, Zhan Xugang's 157.5 kg deadlift failed twice in succession, and he had to leave the field in sorrow, and the legendary athlete who had won two Olympic championships bid farewell to the weightlifting arena.
Zhan Xugang (right)
In September 2004, after the failed defense of the Athens Olympic champion, Zhan Xugang officially announced his retirement.
After retiring from the military, he put more energy into his private life, and the first thing he did was to propose to his first girlfriend Yao Jian, who had been in love for eight years, after all, he and his girlfriend had waited too long.
Yao Jian, a flight attendant at Air China, met on an international flight, and the two fell in love at first sight and quickly established a relationship. It was just after Zhan Xugang won the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and after the competition, his training schedule was even busier, and he rarely had his own personal time.
In order not to delay Zhan Xugang's training schedule, Yao Jian can only go to the weightlifting team training ground once a week to visit the class, but the time spent gathering less and leaving more did not dilute the strong feelings between the lovers, but made them more sympathetic to each other.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Yao Jian specially asked the relevant leaders of the Civil Aviation Administration of China and the unit for instructions, hoping that he could fly Zhan Xugang's flight to Australia to cheer for her boyfriend.
Zhan Xugang's family
At the time of the final, Yao Jian's figure appeared in the audience as promised, and her appearance made Zhan Xugang instantly full of energy.
Perhaps it is with this strength that Zhan Xu just completed the earth-shattering reversal and finally won the championship of this competition, becoming the first athlete in the history of China's weightlifting to win the Olympic Championship consecutively.
After the Sydney Olympics, Yao Jian accompanied Zhan Xugang through a three-year period of arduous training. Before going to Athens, Zhan Xugang promised Yao Jian that as soon as he returned home, he would propose to Yao Jian.
In January 2005, the two officially entered the palace of marriage, and a year later, their daughter was born. In order to better accompany her husband and take care of her daughter, Yao Jian quit the job of a flight attendant who often needed to travel and moved from Beijing to Hangzhou.
Zhan Xugang
After retiring from the army, Zhan Xugang not only had a happy family life, but also walked very smoothly on the road to politics.
After retiring in 2004, Zhan Xugang became a coach for major weightlifting teams across the country and even abroad, and after a period of rest, Zhan Xugang decided to accept the invitation of the Zhejiang Provincial Sports and Culture Bureau to undertake the management of weightlifting, judo and taekwondo as the vice captain of the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Team.
After the end of the 2005 National Games, under the organization of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Zhejiang Sports Vocational and Technical College and Zhejiang Provincial Sports Training Brigade and other units were merged to form Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational and Technical College, which integrates training, teaching and scientific research.
Zhan Xugang, who has extensive experience in weightlifting and practical skills, was hired as the head of the Department of Weightlifting and continued to be responsible for the management of weightlifting projects.
Zhan Xugang
At the beginning of 2012, Zhan Xugang was promoted to the position of vice president of Zhejiang Provincial Sports Vocational College, and his main job was to assist the dean in handling the financial work and training competition work of the college, in addition to which he was also responsible for the training and preparation of the Department of Competitive Sports.
After arriving at this post, Zhan Xugang was faced with a major task, that is, to select candidates for the Rio Olympic Games.
In order to be able to better prepare for the Rio Olympic Games, Zhan Xugang went to great lengths to persuade the relevant leaders to form the Zhejiang group of the Chinese national weightlifting team, and set up a training base in the Ningbo sports team, at the same time, he also established a professional support team for the team members, giving the team members professional and scientific preparation guidance.
During the preparation for the Rio Olympics, Zhan Xugang ate and lived with the team members, sometimes not caring to go home once a month. Under his efforts, the Zhejiang Provincial Weightlifting Team can be described as a generation of talents, including many new generation sports stars such as Shi Zhiyong and Mao Chen.
Zhan Xugang (right)
In 2014, Shi Zhiyong once wanted to give up the competition because of a waist injury, in order to dispel his concerns, Zhan Xugang specially invited experts from the national weightlifting team for him to consult him, and successfully helped Shi Zhiyong get rid of the shadow of injury.
Later, in order to better adjust Shi Zhiyong, Zhan Xugang gave up the career path of being promoted faster, resigned as deputy county magistrate of Sanmen County and returned to the Zhejiang Provincial Weightlifting Team.
It is gratifying that Shi Zhiyong did not live up to Zhan Xugang's hard work, winning the championship with a total of 352 kg in the men's 69 kg weightlifting competition at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Shi Zhiyong
Five years later, he once again reached the podium at the Tokyo Olympics, equaling the record of master Zhan Xugang for 21 years, becoming the second athlete in The history of Chinese weightlifting to win the Olympic Championships.
Today, 48-year-old Zhan Xugang has been appointed deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau, an official to the rank of deputy department official. The future can be expected.
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The Paper: Olympic weightlifting champion Zhan Xugang was appointed deputy director of the Zhejiang Provincial Sports Bureau
Kaihua release: Zhan Xugang was interviewed and recalled his professional weightlifting career
Xinxiang Review: Weightlifting champion Zhan Xugang
NetEase Sports: Zhan Xugang gave up being a county magistrate to cultivate his beloved disciple Shi Zhiyong to concentrate on teaching ai disciple